Tank heater



G. ALDERSON.

TANK HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. 2o. I92I.

I Patented Dec. 1

A.. wm

o l TLIY .A

IIIA .l

Patented Dec, l2, i922.,

TANK I-I'EATER.

Applica-tion le 'DO tober 20, .1921. Serial No. ,503,143.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that Grenen LDnRsoN, a citizen o'j the United States,7residino at La Salle, in the county ol La Salle and State ol' illinois,have invented certain new and useiul improvements in Tank gileaters, ofwhich the 'following is a specification.

This invention relates to tank heaters adapted for use in connectionwith live stock Watering tanls for the purpose of 'heating the Water incold Weather so as to prevent the same from freezing. riihe heater isadapted to be partially submerged in `the Water tank, and is adapted toburn coal,

Wood, cobs or other fuel for oenerating lthe requisite heat. In tankheaters heretofore constructed, With ivnich l am familiar, the productsoi? combustion are delivered more or 'less directly from the tire boxzto the outlet staclr and always at a considerable distance from thebottom of the tank, with the result that the Water in the lower portionor the tank is not heated and the etliciency ot the heaters isrelatively loiv.

@ne of Athe primary purposes of my present invention is to provide atanlr heater which will conduct the products of combustion [from `thetire box along the bottom of the heater casing in proximity to thebottom ot' the tank, so that Athis ,Water in the bottom of the .tankwill be heated, and because oi"- the long path oi. travel o't the .hotproducts of combustion from the fire box, a high efficiency in theoperation ot my improved heater will result. c

Another feature of my invention resides in the provision of a removableperforated member which may be positioned the lire bor; above the crateso as ,to shut ott a ortion ot the grate When 'coal is lto be used asfuel, thereby reducing Athe rapidity of combustion and also serving` to-eed the fue-l onto that portion of Ythe `grate Where it should beburned. vThe member `i s r e 1 nova ble, as previously stated, vso thatthe full capacity or the grate may be utilized When required, such forinstance, as when burning cobs or other like fuel.

fr further feature of my invention resides in the provision ot a shutterplate which is so mounted that it may be removed when the heater isinitially started up, thus permitting` a direct draft from the fire boxto the outlet stack, and 'when the iirc has been Well started, thisshutter plate may be vinter- VSt may,

posed Ebetween the tire box and the outlet stack to shut off directcommunication and compel the products otconibustion lto travel in acircuitous path througha delivery flue .downwardly along one side oi thecasing,

thence transversely across the casing beneath the tire box, and thenceupwardly along the opposite Wall of the casing to the outlet stack. Thispath ogl the products of ,combustion results in thoroughly heating thebottom of the heater casing, as vvell as the vertical Walls and rendersIthe heater Vex- .,treniely etlicient.

Other objects and many of the inherent advantages oft my invention Willvbe readily vappreciated as the same becomes better .un-

derstood by reference to ythe Jiolloiving` description When consideredin connection with the accompanying `,drawings z- Reierring to thedrawings- F l is vertical sectional vievv through a v4 heater embodyingmy invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse,sectional vieuT on the line 2-2 oi'Fig. l; and

3 is a plan view with the top or cover or' the heater removed to showthe underlying' parts.

From an inspection of the drawings, it Will be appa/rent that myimproved heater comprises essentially a casing 4, shaped subt 'all-yAasshoivn in the drawings and concted in any suitable manner. The casingif desired, be vmade otsheet-metah ,but p reaferably it is constructedof cast iron made in vtavo parts equipped with abutting flanges 5 and f5securely connected together by bolts 7. flhese casing sections areequipped on their inner faces with inwardly projecting ribs or studsarranged to hold the interior parts in position. its shown, llugs 8, 9and 1l .are provided upon which the lire grates @and 1 3 rest. inwardlydisposed ribs llt beneath the grate serve as supports tor the bottomportions 1 5 and 16 oi the r'lue Walls 17 Vand 18 `which are also held`in position by ings 19 and 2l. rlhe lue Wall 1S serves as one end Wallof the lire boXQQ, the other en d wall 23 being supported upon the lugs8 and spaced from the Wall 17 so as to provide an air inlet line 2licomniunicating-` at one end with the atmosphere at the top of theheater, and at its other end beneath the grates so as to supply airthrough the grates to the tire box.

lt will be observed that the' air supply tlue 2d is of less width thanthe casing, leaving spaces 25 at each side thereof through whichComunication is established between the fire box 22 and the flue 26 atone end of the casing. rihis flue extends downwardly, then transversely,indicated at 27, along the bottom of the casing beneath the tire box,and then upwardly, as indicated at 28, along the opposite end wall whereit communicates at its delivery end with an outlet staclr 29 of anydesired height, and preferably equipped with a damper 3l of usualconstruction. lt will be apparent therefore that the products ofcombustion from the `fire box pass through the openings 25 thencethrough sections 26, 2l" and 28 to the stack 29 where they are deliveredfrom the heater.

llfhen lnirning cobs, wood or other light vfuel it is usuall i desirableto 'utilize the full surface of the grates l?? and i3, but when burningcoal, colre or the like only substantially cnc-half of the grate surfaceis required. l have therefore provided a member 3:2, preferablycurved-shaped, supported at its lower end in suitable bearings 33 formedon the inner face of the casing, and disposed. in inclined position soas to shut oil' or cover the grate l2 and at the same time direct thecoal onto the grate 13 where it is burned. ,ln facilitate the combustionof the fuel, this member 32 is equipped with air openings 34, and nearits lower edge it is slotted, as indicated at so that air, in additionto that passing upwardly through the grate 13, may enter the lire boxt-o support combustion.

It will be observed from F ig. 1 that the upper portion of the fluesection 2S is normally separated from the fire box by a shutter plate 36supported in inclined position with its lower edge 37 resting insupporting brac ets 38 formed on the wall 18. Near its vupper end theplate is equipped with trunnions 39 which are seated in bearings 1liformed in the top of the casing. rlhe upper projecting portion l2 of theshutter plate forms a handle by which the plate may be manipulated. Whenit is desired to establish direct comunioation between the iire box andthe outlet stack 29, the plate may be lifted to disengage it from thebrackets 38 permitting it to hang suspended from the fire box, but sincein this position it is sub- ,iected to excessive heat, I prefer toremove the plate entirely from the casing when not positioned as shownin lEig. l, and with this end in view the bearing members 4l areseparated by a slot t8 extending` transversely between the bearings andof sucient width to permit the withdrawal and insertion of the plate 36therethrough. The casing is closed at its upper end by a cover platedit, and when the shutter plate is to be removed or replaced this coveris lifted off. rllhe shutter plate is then lifted to free the trunnionsfrom their bearings whereupon it is turned thru an -angle of 90 inalinement with the slot i3 so that it can be slid to the left viewingFig. l, sufficiently to free it from the bearings and permit it to belifted out through the opening above the .tire box. l? or the purpose ofregulating the supply of air to the lire box, the cover plate dt isequipped with slidable shutter 45 adapted to wholly or partially closethe Lipper end of the air inlet flue 24.-. T his shutter may be adjustedto any desired position in the slideways 4G formed on the upper faceofthe cover efr.

ln the operation of my improved heater, the tire box is charged withfuel, the member being removed or left in, depending upon the characterof the fuel employed. the fuel is initially i gnited, the shutter plate36 is preferably removed. for a limited period, permitting direct draftfrom the lire box to the stack 29 until the fuel is well ignitedwhereupon the shutter plate 36 is replaced in the position shown in Fig.l, thereby shutting off the direct communication between the lire boxand the stach.

The products of combustion are now compelled to travel through theopenings 25 into the line 2G, downwardly in this .flue to the bottom ofthe casing, then along the `bottom through the flue 27 and then upwardlythrough the flue 2S to the stack. This circuitous path of the productsof combustion causes the end walls and also the bottom wall of thecasing to be thoroughly heated, thus heating the surrounding water inthe lower portion of the tank and removing a maximum quantity of heatunits from t-he products of combustion before they are delivered fromthe stack with the result that the heater possesses a high degree ofeiiiciency. When ash removal is required, one

of the grates, or both, if the fire is not burning, may be lifted out,whereupon the ashes may be removed with a suitable implement through thetop, the cover 4 1 having been irst taken od.

lt is believed that my invention, its construction, mode of operation,and many of its advantages will be understood from the foregoing withoutfurther description, and whilel have shown and described a preferredembodiment, obviously the details of construction may be varied withinconsiderable limits without departure from the essence of the inventionas defined in the following claims.

ll claim:

l. A tanlr heater, comprising a casing, a lire box therein, a grateforming the bottom of said fire box, an air inlet flue for supplying airbeneath said grate, and a delivery flue communicating with one side ofsaid lire box above the grate, and extending downwardly around said airinlet flue and along one wall of said casing, thenhorizontally acrossthe bottom thereof beneath they fire box, and thence upwardly along theopposite side of the casing.

2. A tank heater, comprising a casing, a iire box arranged therein, agrate forming the bottom of said fire box, a removable perforatedinclined member adapted to be disposed over a portion of said grate, andmeans for conducting the products of combustion transversely across saidcasing beneath said grate.

3. A tank heater, comprising a casing, a fire box arranged therein, agrate formed in the bottom of said fire box, a curved perforated memberdisposed in inclined position in said tire box over a portion of saidgrate7 means for supplying air beneath said grate, a delivery stacklocated adjacent one side of said casing, a flue communicating with oneside of said tire box and extending downwardly, thence laterally acrossthe casing beneath the grate, and thence upwardly into communicationwith said stack, and a shutter plate interposed between said stack andsaid fire box and normally forming one side of a portion of said flue,said plate being movable so as to establish direct communication betweensaid fire box and said stack.

et. ln a tank heater, the combination of a casing provided at the topadjacent one side with an air intake flue and adjacent the opposite sidewith a delivery stack, a fire box arranged within said casing, a flueextending from said fire box to said stack, a shutter plate extendingthe full width of the fire box and forming a portion of one of the wallsof said flue, said plate having a narrow upper end,

bearings for removably supporting said and means including slottedshutter plate so that the same may be removed from the casing permittingthe products of combustion from said fire ybox to directlyl enter saidstack without passing through said Hue.

5. ln a tank heater, the combination of a casing, a fire box arrangedtherein, an outlet stack, a shutter plateI comprising a wide lowerportion and a narrow upper portion,

means for supporting said shutter plate with y the wide portion inposition betweensaid fire box and said stack, said means being` slottedto permit removal of said plate from the casing upon lifting said plateand turning the same through a partial rotation.

6. ln a tank heater, the combination of a casing, comprisingcomplemental halves bolted together, a fire box arranged within saidcasing, a down iiue at one side of the fire box, a cross flue beneaththe lire box, an up flue at the opposite side of the fire box, and anair inlet Hue extending downwardly through said down flue for supplyingair to said lire box.l

7. ina tank heater, the combination of a casing, a fire box arrangedtherein7 a grate forming the bottom of said nre: box, means for dividingthe fire box so as to permit the feeding of fuelto a portion only ofsaid grate, an air supply flue extending from the top of said casing toa point beneath said grate, and means for delivering the products ofcombustion from said tirebox, com- V,

GEORGE ALDERS ON.

